Day Seventy-Five - Clapham Junction, SW11

Welcome to I Ching Fortnight on Commuted to Life!

I was beginning to feel that I was getting into a bit of a rut with these pictures. You may not see the patterns but I can, like the amount of pictures I've taken on the way home far outweighing those taken on the way to work. So I was wondering how I could freshen things up and, as is often my way, I started thinking of how musicians escape from the shackles of convention. It didn't take long for me to think of John Cage and his use of the I Ching as a framework for chance in his compositions, and as a method of determining how long each of the three movements of 4'33" should be. How could I use it to bring indeterminacy into my photographic process?

Well, I've done something simple. Each night I will consult the I Ching about my journey to work. The hexagram I end up with will inform that journey and the picture I take, but crucially the number of the hexagram - between 1 and 64 - will denote the minute of the journey when I take the picture. For the first week I'll take pictures on the way to work, on the second week I'll take them on the way home (and throw the coins at work, prior to departure). My journey normally lasts about 55 minutes, so you may end up with some pictures of home or work - contain your enthusiasm, please. For those of you who are interested, I use Stephen Karcher's translation.

Today's hexagram was number 32, Persevering, with a transforming line at the initial six. Quite an apposite one for a commuter I'd say. "This is a time to continue on, to endure on your path and do what is right...be constant, regular and stable. Persist in your way of life or the thing you are doing. This is not a mistake...If you contemplate where and how things persevere, you will see the deep purpose of all the myriad beings." The transforming line suggests that I am going too deep and "must let the situation grow and mature". Fair enough.

The picture, taken during the 32nd minute of my morning commute, shows the platform of Clapham Junction station and, yes, I am heroically, horrifically late. But I've got to keep on keeping on.

On the discman today: AM - Brian Eno Here Come The Warm Jets PM - Brian Eno Another Green World and yes, I have considered an Oblique Strategies week at some point...